GladChild: Folic Acid is important for pregnant women consumed folic acid deficiency can cause birth defects in babies. Recent research has found women who consume folic acid before and during pregnancy greatly reduces the risk to have children with severe language skills.
Folic acid has many benefits for pregnant women and their babies. Because folic acid can help baby's brain growth, and reduce the risk of Neural Tube Defects (NTD) in infants who are born and others.
The results of these studies have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, dated October 11, 2011.
When compared with mothers who did not consume folic acid supplements, women who consume folic acid ranging from 4 weeks before pregnancy can reduce the risk of having children who will experience severe delays in language comprehension at age 3, the researchers said as quoted by CNN-Health on Thursday October 13, 2011.
This risk is reduced by half after the researchers controlled for other factors in the study. Other factors are controlled by the researchers in that study, among others:
- Maternal education
- Maternal weight
- Socio-demographic factors
Although some medical research on the benefits of folic acid in protecting the fetus against neural tube defects has been widely publicized, but this study is further evidence that the supplements could protect baby’s other neurodevelopmental disorders.
We always recommend folic acid supplements. This is because foods fortified with folic acid although it gives a number of folic acid intake, but did not reach 400 micrograms. Therefore, experts suggest intake of 400 micrograms of folic acid for all women of childbearing age, said Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director at the March of Dimes.
Research has tracked about 0.5 percent of the 40,000 Norwegian children who have severe delays in language skills. Norwegian children are only able to make a single word or words that can be understood by others at the age of 3 years.
